Trekking Across Cinque Terre

EV:  We all knew, unfortunately, that our trip had to come to a close one of these days.  Before it was all gone though, a few of us decided to try our hand at hiking the famous Cinque Terre.  This is a row of five cities situated by the sea that from the first city, Riomaggiore, to the last city, Monterosso, there is a beautiful hike a long the side of a mountain.  Because it’s a long the side of a mountain, each turn and twist you take possesses a new treasure to be discovered, whether that’s the next town, an incredible view, or an interesting plant.  Since taking the international horticulture class, I have come to have a whole new appreciation for plants and it has opened my eyes to a whole new vegetative world.  

Hiking up this mountain, we would come across a vineyard on the side of a hill, getting ready for harvest in the fall, huge cactus that looked like it had cactus growing on cactus growing on cactus, with a pair of names etched into its skin in every open space, and Italian mustard flowers as far as the eye can see, making the terrain look like a gorgeous sunset.  It was the most beautiful place I have ever been to and the wildlife growing in all of the cracks and crevices up the mountain made it that much more wonderful, bringing to life the colors and surprising horticulture of Italy, a country that never fails to take my breath away.